Kudadoo is an all-inclusive, ultra-luxury private island resort in the Maldives that sets a new standard in escapism. Soul-soothing Japanese design and eco-friendly architecture combine in 15 expansive overwater villas, each with its own infinity pool looking out on the coral rich ocean. What to do first? Well, there’s a seafood-specialist restaurant, a champagne-stocked bar and a salt-cave-toting spa… but the ethos here is ‘anything, anytime, anywhere,’ so the only limit really is your imagination.

Our favourite rooms

There are no wrong answers – each of the one- and two-bed villas is supremely luxurious. For the ultimate in privacy, go for the villa at the centre of the arc – that way nobody will even walk past your door.

Poolside

Every villa comes with its own infinity pool, but there’s a jumbo one by the restaurant too, if you’re feeling sociable.

Spa

Balinese light features and a wall of coconut husks greet you at the Sulha Spa, where the internationally inspired treatments include warm oil massages and herbal poultice body balms. There’s a salt cave too – the first in the Maldives.

Packing tips

Plenty of swimwear – you’ll be practically living in it.

Also

The common areas are wheelchair-accessible, and there’s step-free access to the rooms.

Children

It’s designed as an adults-only resort, but children over 15 are welcome.

Eco&dash;friendly

The resort is entirely self-sufficient for energy, thanks to the 984 solar panels on the roof, and the 15 overwater villas are constructed from sustainably sourced wood and designed to exist in harmony with the surrounding ecosystem. Kudadoo partners with local conservation projects to protect local wildlife, the Healing Ocean bath products are environmentally friendly, and you won’t find throwaway plastics anywhere on site.

Food and Drink

Top Table

Out on the terrace, overlooking the water.

Dress Code

Retreat deserves fancy and free flowing threads, but you make the rules here.

Hotel restaurant

You’ve got options. Dine in the ambient lantern-lit Retreat, have a top-end takeaway on your villa deck or arrange for an intimate on-beach dinner under the stars. The house chef trained in France and haute cuisine is on the menu, but so is everything else – any diet or desire can be catered for, so don’t be afraid to ask. Seafood, of course, is the local speciality, and we can vouch for the shucking-good oysters.

Hotel bar

Make the bar at The Retreat bar part of your evening ritual. Pick a drink, any drink (they’re all free), and find a perch on the ocean-facing deck for sunset; oftentimes, the dolphins and manta rays might join you. Over at Hurawalhi there’s the Coco Bar for signature cocktails (hello, popcorn espresso martini), and the Champagne Pavilion for fizz.

Last orders

Breakfast is served 7am to 11am, lunch is from 12.30pm until 3pm, and dinner is from 7.30pm till 11pm. The Pool Bar is open all day from 7am.

Room service

You can order breakfast to your villa, or even have a ‘floating breakfast’ served in your infinity pool. There’s also an extensive room service menu, including salads, curries, stir-fries and pizza.

Location

Address

This booking requires a return seaplane transfers

You need a transfer to reach this hotel. For approximate costs, see location information

You’ll find the resort on its eponymous private island in the Maldives’ Lhaviyani Atoll.

Planes

You’ll fly into Malé (the capital of the Maldives), and then take a 40-minute seaplane to Kudadoo Island; the transfer costs $490 each way. British Airways operates a direct flight from London to Malé from November to March; for the rest of the year, you can fly with Qatar Airways or Emirates after a stop in the Middle East.

Worth getting out of bed for

You could practically roll out of bed straight into the sea, but make sure you put a snorkel on first, so you can meet the locals properly (if any rub you up the wrong way, you might try fishing later on… ). Get your adrenaline rush with water-skiing, jet-skiing or motor boating, or keep things calm with kayaking, paddleboarding, sailing or kitesurfing instead. On dry land, challenge your partner to a game of tennis, join yoga and meditation classes on the beach, or spoil yourself with treatments and salt-room sessions at the Sulha Spa.

If there is a downside to holidaying on a private island in the Maldives, it’s that there aren’t any local things to see and do. On the plus side, it’s a private island in the Maldives.

Local restaurants

For a change of scene, motor over to sister hotel Hurawalhi, on a separate island five minutes away. There you’ll find a trio of more formal dining options, including the all-glass 5.8 – the world’s largest underwater restaurant. (You can book the Hurawalhi restaurants with the concierge at Kudadoo.)

Reviews

Anonymous review

Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this private island resort in the Maldives and unpacked their well-thumbed novels and sandy-pocketed shorts, a full account of their ultra-luxury break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Kudadoo in the Maldives…

Sugary white sand, translucent turquoise water, palms swaying in the warm ocean breeze – you might think that Kudadoo sounds a lot like countless other tropical island resorts. That wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing, but in any case, you’d be wrong. The moment you arrive at the Japanese-inspired escape – by seaplane, naturally – the AAA ethos kicks in: no, that’s not a battery reference. It stands for ‘anything, anytime, anywhere’ (presumably including replacement Duracells if you need them, but that’s by the by). Nothing is off-limits – have breakfast served in your private pool, make off-the-wall requests to the chef, take tailormade treatments in the spa, and work your way through every watersport you can think of. It’s all meticulously managed by your round-the-clock genie (ahem, butler) so all you need to worry about is using your wishes wisely.

The Guestbook

Whenever you book a stay at a Smith hotel or villa, we’ll invite you to review it when you get back. Read what other Smith members had to say in Kudadoo’s Guestbook below.

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